Question

An astronomer measures the distance from earth to a newly-discovered asteroid. The distance is ×8.4711010m . What is the distance in gigameters? Write your answer as a decimal

Answer 1

The distance from earth to a newly-discovered asteroid. = 8.4711010 m

We have to convert this distance into gigameters.

Since 1 gigameter =
`1000000000 = 10^9` meters

So, to convert the unit meter to gigameter, we have to divide the given number by
`10^9`.

Therefore, 8.4711010 m =
`8.4711010 / 10^9`

=
`\frac{84711010 * 10^-7} {10^9}`

=
`\frac{84711010} {10^(16)}`

=
`\frac{8471101} {10^(15)}`

=
`{8471101 * {10^(-15)}` gigameters

Therefore, there are
`{8471101 * {10^(-15)}` gigameters in 8.4711010 m.